May 16 - 2:40pm EDT   T-Mobile today opted for a weekend launch of the Sidekick Slide Scarlet, its first special variant of the Motorola-created messaging phone. The new model conspicuously changes the phone's trim from its original purple to a deeper red while keeping all of the features of the original: the Slide is still one of T-Mobile's smallest Sidekicks but offers the full feature set, including its 1.3-megapixel camera, EDGE Internet access, microSD storage up to 4GB, and dedicated AAC and MP3 playback. [full story]

May 16 - 1:05pm EDT   Research in Motion's anticipated BlackBerry Bold cellphone may already have prices and dates for all major US carriers, a report claims. According to a supplied chart, the AT&T version will ship first in July, at a cost of $300; the T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon versions are all scheduled for September at the same price level, with the exception of the T-Mobile device, which is $50 extra. This may be attributable to contract plans not revealed in the chart. [full story]

May 15 - 12:00pm EDT   T-Mobile has sold over 100,000 iPhones in Germany, according to the head of the carrier's parent company, Deutsche Telekom. CEO Rene Obermann made the statement Thursday as a follow-up to statistics from January, which indicated that it had sold 70,000 iPhones since the device's local debut in early November of 2007. While the figure points to a relative slowdown in sales, T-Mobile board member Hamid Akhavan says that this is "about in line" with corporate targets. [full story]

May 12 - 10:30am EDT   AT&T will be the first to carry the BlackBerry Bold when it goes on sale this summer, the company confirmed today. Company official John Kampfe says the provider will be the "only" one in the US to offer the phone and will carry the Bold in the summer. As it's the only model to support WCDMA, it will also be the only BlackBerry to roam properly in Japan, Korea, and other countries that don't support either regular CDMA or GSM phone calls. [full story]

May 12 - 7:55am EDT   Sprint this morning reported its results for the first quarter of 2008 and has revealed continued severe losses in its cellular business. The carrier says its net revenue declined nine percent year-over-year to $9.3 billion and that it lost a total 1.09 million wireless customers in the most recent period. The company says the poor results were "expected" but that it's continuing to rework its strategy, including more focused advertising, cost reductions, and larger strategic decisions. Its news last week of a team-up with Clearwire for nationwide WiMAX also points to a turnaround, according to the company. [full story]

May 12 - 12:00am EDT   Research in Motion tonight revealed the BlackBerry Bold, the next generation of its full-size smartphones. The black-and-chrome device is RIM's first to support 3G on GSM networks with HSDPA access, and is also the first to build in a higher-resolution display: at 480x320, the screen is as sharp as today's iPhone. The Bold's interface undergoes an overhaul to match and comes with a new high-contrast "strip" interface as well as a much more powerful web browser, which adds CSS and Javascript for more complex sites as well as built-in streaming video support. [full story]

May 9 - 12:15pm EDT   HTC's Touch Diamond smartphone has already appeared at the FCC through a filing published today. Though the phone was only announced as shipping for the second half of 2008 in North America, the device has already been passed through the US agency for approval in the US, including its operating frequencies and placement of an FCC label. [full story]

May 8 - 11:00am EDT   T-Mobile's US division today reported a milestone first quarter of 2008. The communications company says that its first results of the new year added 981,000 wireless subscribers to its overall pool, giving the company more than 30 million subscribers for the first time. Churn, or the number of customers lost during the period, was flat year-over-year and dropped slightly for customers on contracts from 1.9 percent in early 2007 to 1.7 percent in the same time span this year. [full story]

May 7 - 11:05am EDT   BT on Wednesday formally rolled out Total Broadband Anywhere, its own approach to merging Internet and phone service. The plan gives users both an 8Mbps DSL connection from the British carrier but also two phone offerings that promise to avoid the need for traditional cellphone or landline service. A home router known as the BT Home Hub provides the basic connection and creates a Wi-Fi connection in addition to including a cordless voice-over-Internet phone for making calls when at home; the feature allows much less expensive calling, particularly over long distances. [full story]

May 7 - 10:25am EDT   Matching internal leaks published in March, Fido today kicked off the launch of its UNO calling service. The feature closely mirrors T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home in the US and lets users save on cellular plan minutes and improve indoor reception by calling when within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot. Fido's implementation is likewise based on UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) and automatically bridges to or from the regular GSM phone network to keep calls active as the phone user roams into or out of coverage. [full story]

May 5 - 2:40pm EDT   A 3G-capable iPhone is coming soon and may bring pricing changes along with it in at least one area, says a report by Austrian paper Der Standard. T-Mobile Austria has allegedly confirmed the existence of a phone that would support faster data over the local UMTS-based 3G data network and says it will be a "testing ground" for the device as one of the first to carry the hardware. However, the company declines to say when it will unveil the iPhone for customers and has not provided any technical details beyond the faster wireless speeds. [full story]

May 5 - 12:20pm EDT   T-Mobile today officially introduced its anticipated third-generation (3G) cellular service. Coming after company hints and unofficial tests, the network is now live in New York City and significantly improves both call quality and data access versus the current 2G network. Like other 3G services, T-Mobile's is seamless and allows supporting phones to automatically switch to 3G when they come within range. [full story]

May 5 - 9:20am EDT   T-Mobile's rumored Sidekick Gekko has already been spotted and had some of its details revealed courtesy of a leak from Hiptop3. Confirmed as a replacement for the Sidekick iD, the Gekko will have colored and likely replaceable faceplates but should represent a significant technical upgrade. It should include the same 400x240 wide display as the Sidekick LX and may match a number of the other features of the higher-end model, which include a 1.3-megapixel camera. [full story]

May 5 - 8:15am EDT   Research in Motion is reportedly developing a close variant of the BlackBerry 9000 that will be scaled down for legacy networks, says BGR. The device codenamed "Niagra" will drop its HSDPA-based 3G Internet access in favor of the EDGE on most current BlackBerries; the design will also be slightly less exotic with a thicker, non-chrome trim and a different back. [full story]

May 3 - 5:05pm EDT   T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom is seriously considering merging with or taking over Sprint, claims the German national magazine Der Spiegel. A continued weakening of US currency values, combined with worsening results at Sprint, is reportedly leading the European company to investigate transactions that would help T-Mobile USA gain ground in the US market and better compete against AT&T. The opportunity is rare and would cost Deutsche Telekom less than it did to buy VoiceStream in 2001 and assume its role as one of the largest American carriers, according to the report. [full story]